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Okay. Before I get started I have to say a huge thank you to all of you wonderful, fat-hearted people who really encouraged me after I shared about my change of heart. It really is because of all of you awesomesauce peeps that I want to share more of myself. And by myself I mean my heart. Not my body. Do NOT picture me running naked through the streets screaming “I JUST WANT TO SHARE ALL OF THIS!!” That would just be gross. (I apologize for that visual. Also, I mentioned sharing more of my dirty mind. Apparently that has started as well.)

Today’s post on curb appeal is about house numbers. But before I get into the how-to of my new house numbers, I have to ask that you pretty pretty please don’t stalk me. I’ve always blurred out my house number on pictures of our home, but I can’t really do that when my whole post is about said house numbers. Go figure. So if you are the friendly kind of stalker who will send me presents (of the chocolate, flowers, and power tool kind) by all means, stalk away! But if you are the other variety (the locks of hair, poisoned chocolate, and pictures of myself sleeping kind of “presents”) please know that those aren’t my real house numbers! he… he… *boldfacelie*… he.

Please also take note in that picture that gorgeous ginnala maple tree right in front of our home. It sits directly in front of a pillar. On said pillar is the only house numbers on our home. Many people have passed our house saying that they can’t see the numbers.

And here is how we are looking now. Woo! Gravel path, house numbers and some hanging pots! Woo!!! Okay. Maybe three exclamation points was a little too much. These really aren’t huge curb appeal updates (like that time we had 17 trees removed) but they do make our home another step closer to being ours and less like it was abandoned. And no. Grass hasn’t gone in yet. We are still gathering bids for a sprinkler system to be installed. Plus now that the hot weather has hit, we don’t want to have sod die the week it is laid due to scorching.

Back to my pretty pretty house numbers. I have always hated the big open wall space next to our front door. It was just begging for something. Anything. A window (expensive). A wall planter (Hi. I’m Mrs. Black Thumb). Or hey! Some house numbers! Plus the whole big tree blocking the other numbers thing also sold me. Here’s how to make your own rustic DIY house numbers.

First, go to any store that sells 5 gallon buckets of paint. Home Depot is my jam, so that’s where I headed. Then, while the paint counter employee’s back is turned, take 8 of the extra long paint sticks. Be sure to run away like you just stole something even though those paint sticks are totally free. You’ll get awesome looks from strangers.

When you get home, cut down your paint sticks into whatever length you desire. My house numbers were 5-inches tall so I went with 8-inch lengths. Plus, that way I got 2 pieces for each paint stick. Stain your sticks. I used Minwax’s Dark Walnut.

Now you need something to adhere your paint sticks to. I found this piece of plywood under the overhang of my house and though it would be perfect. So I cut it down to size. As far as sizing of your piece of wood goes, It depends on how many paint stick pieces you use. When my 16 pieces were lined up the measurement was 8″x19.5″. So I cut my plywood to 7.5″x19″. Just subtract a 1/2-inch from your overall length and height and you’ll be set.

Slap some exterior white paint on that bad boy for those possible little gaps between paint stick pieces.

Once the paint is dry, start wood gluing your paint sticks to the plywood. There should be about a 1/4-inch over hang on each piece. Put some super heavy books on top of the paint sticks while the wood glue dries.

I found my house numbers at Home Depot for $6 each. Each number came with a super handy template that shows you exactly where to drill to place the pins. So tape the templates together and place them on your board. Make sure they are lined up perfectly or you will cry.

Drill holes large enough to push each pin through. They way you secure them is by filling each hole with caulk and then pushing the pins through so the caulk secures them. I ended up using E-6000 glue instead because 1) I didn’t want to walk all the way to the garage and 2) I wanted to make REALLY sure the numbers wouldn’t just fall off. That would be sad.

To attach it to the wall I just drilled through the board and into siding with 3-inch screws. It is very secure.

Voila! Some fancy new house numbers! This whole project cost me $24. And that was just for the house numbers themselves. Paint sticks? Free. Random plywood found under my house? Free. Stain? Well, I hoard all things paint and stain so I already had about 15 on hand.

As for the other little curb appeal update that you may have noticed in the after picture above… we graveled in the stepping stone path! Woo!

Just completing that one little step elevated the path from “Oh. They threw some rocks on the ground. I guess we could step on them.” to “OH! A deliberate path! How nice!”

Slowly and surely we are checking projects off the long list. Just for grins and giggles, I wanted to share this before and after that really highlights all that we have done in the past 3 months. Quite a difference, if I do say so myself!

12 thoughts on “Curb Appeal Tips (Part 5) – DIY House Numbers”

T,
It looks great! We need to redo our house numbers. I’m also going to stencil the house house numbers in yellow reflective paint on the curb (for safety).
Have you ever considered adding a decorative gable up near the roof line in that triangle-shaped space?

I really like the light blue door color with the shutters. Everything looks so fresh. The house numbers now pop. Just wondering if you will paint the front door to match the seasons…red for fall, light blue for summer? What will you try for Winter??

I’m late to the party on this one… but I have to say I admire your decision to share what you feel you *want* to on this blog. I honestly always got the feeling you were holding back a bit. (I’m a first-time poster, long-time lurker. And really trying hard not to be super creepy right now. Lol.)

I understand your decision and your concern. I’ve had a few blogs over the years, and none “clicked.” I just bought a house and am trying to blog again — sharing stories about now I got here and what I’m doing, for far-away family and friends and anyone else who cares to follow along. Finding your blog’s voice, so to speak, is a difficult thing to do, I’m learning!

Anyway, I’ll shut up! I won’t post my link because I feel like it would seem like I’m just trolling for blog hits. I just want you to know that I love what you do and am excited to see where you go. 🙂

See, Jamie, it is people like you, who really seem to “get me”, that made me want to share more of myself. Your super sweet comment came at just the right time, right when I was having a crappy day. Thank you. Truly. Also, now I REALLY want your link because I want to check out your blog!